| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

My take on living economies

Page history last edited by Andrea 13 years, 5 months ago

Aberlyna's take on this paper : Complete.

explanation of problem

possible change

Think Globally- Act Locally

Globalization:  Has making the world smaller ruined it for everybody?

                    Inital question poses some confusion especially for those of us who may not have been previously exposed to globalization, or just aren't quite sure what it is 

Globalization: the integration of cultures, societies, and economies through communication and trade

By Team Glocal

Team Global perhaps?

 Martha Estrada . Elizabeth Ehle . Duane Davis . Jay Boda

 

Homecoming

It is homecoming season at the University of South Florida.  A time we welcome back students, faculty, and alumni.  Welcome home.  Our school is literally a global village.  We hail from every corner of the world.  Because of our world view, we find it no mere coincidence between the title of this essay and the USF Homecoming theme, "Think Globally, Act Locally."  Wrist bands, t-shirts, and can cozies are emblazoned with our essay's title.  Is it a catchy, politically-correct phrase or is there more to it? Seem like a breaking point between here and next sentences

 

Team Glocals Mission

 

      Globalization is a huge issues, as a team we decided to tackle a select few. Globalization, forever changing?  What's wrong with outsourcing our jobs overseas? How do genetically engineered foods affect our health?  What's the big deal about stocking our stores almost exclusively with goods made in China?  That's what Team Glocal I guess it is glocal.lol wanted to find out.

Introduction was a good way to relate it to students here but what about outside of our campus walls? Possibly explain the meaning (Personal/formal) of Think Globally, Act Locally. The connection between "TG,AL" and the various forms of globalization you listed seem to be lost.

 

 


 

 

"Human activity is putting such a strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet's ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted." ~ Robert Watson, chief scientist at the World Bank and former scientific adviser to the White House.

 


 

 

How Do You Define Globalization?

 

It's a highly charged and loaded question.  The actual word "globalization" dates back to 1930, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.  It denoted a holistic view of human experience in education.  The times, they are a changing.  Today, globalization is contentious and is defined by the person or group you ask.  In the book, "Earth Democracy", global justice author Vandana Shiva defines globalization as changing all Earthly life and resources into mere commodities.  Her world view shows globalization denying all life of their own culture, ecology, economics, and political space.  On the other hand, the United Nations says it can be defined in a number of ways, though primarily, it's used in an economic context where there is a reduction of barriers between national borders to facilitate the flow of goods, capital, and services of labor.  Simplified, New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman, returns us to a flat Earth when defining globalization showing us a world without borders and globalized trade.  Conversely, American lecturer, linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, author, and political activist Noam Chomsky is more pointed.  "What is called 'globalization' is a specific form of international integration, designed and instituted for particular purposes. There are many possible alternatives. This particular form happens to be geared to the interests of private power, manufacturing corporations and financial institutions, closely linked to powerful states. Effects on others are incidental. Sometimes they happen to be beneficial, often not."

....no problems above, but i don't know why your underlining (for emphasis perhaps)

 

Globalization, as defined by rich people like us, is a very nice thing... you are talking about the Internet, you are talking about cell phones, you are talking about computers. This doesn't affect two-thirds of the people of the world. ~ President Jimmy Carter, Accepting the Nobel Prize for peace in 2002

(this quote was most definitely my favorite part of the paper, it says so much..Details perhaps)

 

So there you have it, globalization.  Confused, yet?  For our purposes, our group defines globalization in the more traditional sense of the word and from an American perspective.  One where financial and trade barriers are reduced for the purposes of making limitless amounts of money for international global corporations.

 

With this working definition of globalization come questions about its effects.  Is it really just the integration of economic, political, and cultural systems across the globe? Might it be the dominance of developed countries over poorer, less powerful nations?  Could globalization actually be a force for economic growth, prosperity, and democratic freedom? Or is it a force for environmental devastation, exploitation of the developing world, and suppression of human rights? Does globalization only benefit the rich or can the poor take advantage of it to improve their well-being?

 

A subject as controversial as this brings several opinions onto the battleground of fact finding.  Like everything else, there are extremes on both sides.  From tree huggers to industrial giants, is there a middle ground?

 

In its current form, globalization cannot be sustained. Democratic societies will not support it. Authoritarian leaders will fear to impose it.” ~ John J. Sweeney

 

One side argues the merits and efficiencies gained when able to trade with global partners.  Another side speaks to the unsustainable effects of globalization on the natural world and its cultures.  Yet another side will talk about the devastation wrought in the form of job loss, cultural homogenization, and human rights. Which side trumps the other?  Who is right?  Is anyone wrong?

 

 

 

Globalized Economies 

In Shiva's book, Earth Democracy", three types of economies are discussed.  The dominant economy, nature's economy, and sustenance economies.   The dominant economy takes from nature without a plan for sustainability.  Nature’s economy provides everything necessary for all life.  Shiva's answer to preserving nature with human kind in the picture is the sustenance economy.  It balances

what nature provides with the things people want and need.  This all makes sense.  But is it realistic to think humans can comply after generations having as much as they want, whenever they want it? 

 

Before we can tackle the issue of globalization further, we have to admit its failures.  Like the first step of the “12 Steps” of recovery, we must admit we have a problem.  We need to realize that human beings truly are irreparably destroying the planet. Human greed led to greatly depleting Earth’s resources.  There are alternative  substances that can be used instead of limited resources such as trees. “Wetlands, forests, savannas, estuaries, coastal fisheries and other habitats that recycle air, water and nutrients for all living creatures are being irretrievably damaged. In effect, one species is now a hazard to the other 10 million or so on the planet, and to itself (Radford).” Alternative resources can be used to help save the environment. What ever happened to the electric car when it was first created?  Sources are being hidden to prevent progress of our society. America needs to bring about awareness on how to help  save limited resources. People do not realize how quickly industries are depleting our resources in order to create the products we strive to have. Greed is a leading factor in why our limited resources are used up. There are alternatives that can be used to prevent this from happening, so bringing about awareness could help.

=D

 

 

Reaping What We Sow

The United States represents a great example of how we should not grow and produce food.  Our economy is inefficient. Our food production is run by five large companies. Throughout history small farms seem to cause less issues. "The free trade of agricultural products is basically a food swap, with countries importing the same commodities they export, rather then exporting what they can uniquely produce and importing what they cannot, the entire world is being pushed into trading a handful of commodities controlled by the agribusiness giant (Shiva pg. 36) We are being wasteful for trading what we have, versus what we NEED. Industrialized food systems cause fatal health issues. As the United States food culture spreads through globalization (such as McDonald's in Japan), it spreads health hazards. Obesity is a major health hazard that continues to grow by globalization. "Obesity is now second only to smoking as a cause of mortality in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that about 280,000 Americans die every year as a direct result of being overweight" (Shiva pg. 37) America has globally spread the obesity issues and other health hazards such as genetically engineered food.

 

“Any scientist who tells you they know that GMOs are safe and not to worry about it, is either ignorant of the history of science or is deliberately lying. Nobody knows what the long-term effect will be.” ~ Geneticist, David Suzuki, giving the 2008 Commonwealth Lecture in London

 

Our generation is the first to have to deal with the issues of genetically engineered food. Depending on who it is coming from genetically engineered food could be described as doomsday or the future of agriculture. “GE foods are produced when scientists remove a copy of a gene from one organism and transfer that gene to a different organism” (Palmer). Imagine this, no long term effects are known as of today, but within the next decade unheard of health hazards will arise from genetically engineered food. Rats have a short life span, and in many studies where rats were fed genetically engineered organisms such as potatoes, they ended up with genetic defects such as discolored testicles. Genetically engineered food has been consumed by people for the last 17 years. My whole life time has been spent consuming genetically engineered food, with little to no awareness about it for me as a child. Genetically engineered food causes unalterable and unpredictable risks that can be potentially harmful to the human body. What is worse- solving world hunger, or causing long term effects in the next generations genetic makeup. The side affects and risks from GMO's are simply not worth it. Genetically engineered food is not labeled in the United States, giving the people no right to know what is in their food. Local grocery stores offer one isle of organic foods, which are more expensive but guaranteed to not be genetically engineered.

 

 

“As far as genetic engineering for food, that is the great experiment that has failed. They literally have the entire world market against them. All those dreams… the blind will see, the lame will walk… has turned out to be science fiction. They are basically chemical companies selling more chemicals. They’ve been able to spread these herbicide-promoting plants around because it is more convenient for farmers who can just mass-spray their crops. But they’ve given absolutely nothing to the consumer while causing more chemical pollution and contamination.” ~ Lawyer, Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety (USA)

 

  

 

Even though these foods have the potential to cause some problems in the future, genetic engineered foods have found their way into our grocery stores and ultimately our stomachs. Lets choose for ourself, what we are going to consume. The FDA and biotechnology companies are creating foods that cause many sever symptoms that are unknown. The products that are for sale have been modified in order to solve problems that have not only caused people to go hungry but has been causing problems for our economy sense it was created. One of the most commonly found genetically modified foods is the Colorado potato beetle resistant potato. This beetle is known for killing vast areas of crops and in recent years has grown tolerant to the poisons in pesticides. Until this potato was created farmers had no way of fighting back against the insects. This is just one example of how genetically engineered foods can bring food to an area that once could not support it due to natural restraints. Changing the genetics of these foods can allow for people in regions of the earth that have been deprived from nutrients in the past to finally be self sufficient and grow foods in their area. There are tobacco, tomato, and potato plants that have been engineered to withstand cold temperatures for extended periods of time. GMO's have allowed for these foods to be grown in places of the world that have never before had the capabilities of growing their own crops. In places like Russia and Northern Europe most of the year is spent under extremely cold conditions. These genetically engineered foods allow people in these places to grow the food necessary for them to become self reliant. Theoretically growing these foods can allow people all over the world to grow the food necessary to survive no matter where they live.<--- you do state the positive of this situation perhaps you could expand more, it would give this paragraph more perspective. In third world countries it is all to common for children to become blind due to vitamin a deficiency. A strain of rice has been created that has a high concentration of vitamin a in order to combat this problem, it is being called "golden rice". Foods that are being created in order to fight specific problems like this can make a huge impact on world hunger.

 

 

Benefits for Who? 

Many say our market economy is efficient, yet it destroys nature's economy. The efficiency industrial businesses can bring will hide the negative things happening to the environment in order to create growth. "Economic growth takes place through the exploitation of natural resources" (Shiva pg. 32). Although market economists are looking for substitutes of the natural resources, people continue to rely on market commoditiess. We have to use up the limited natural resources to have unlimited commodities. One reason this issue comes about is because not every individual has knowledge of what commodities are using up our natural resources. Industrial agriculture hides the negative effects with commodities and growth of our "efficient" market. Some negative effects, such as soil depletion, loss of biodiversity, and erosion continually harms the environment in multiple ways. It all boils down to, what aspects actually make our market "efficient"? Nothing is positive about five large corporations getting richer versus small farms that exist in the United States. As the capital of our country keeps increase, natures resources become scarce. 

 

The recession: how jobs are affected by everything being made in China.

Come on now there are more place to blame than china, I couldve sworn more jobs were being outsourced to India anyways... Verify your statement with supportive finding. facts+citations=happy paper  Jobs are being sent over seas and Americans are having difficulty finding jobs.  When people don’t buy, corporations that produce things don’t make money, which can thus “trickle down” to fewer jobs available and a greater desire to outsource to make things more cheaply so they will be more attractive to consumers. Globalization is influenced by out sourcing our jobs to other countries, where foreign employees work for lower pay.

 Outsourcing has led to job loss in the US, and has had a detrimental effect on those people who may be only minimally qualified to work. (All this money we pay for college, for our jobs to be taken out of our hands, and placed in the hand of someone who may even need a script to talk to us on the phone)It’s also the case that there are plenty of skilled labor jobs being outsourced to foreign countries. The loss is not only to people with minimal job skills. Some say from the other argument that the outsourcing practice will have an overall positive effect on the US economy, since it saves money for companies, opens up opportunities for greater entrepreneurship in the US, and leads to more Americans holding "better" jobs. America has tricked some into believing that outsourcing is the best idea for our country. Who does this really benefit? Large cooperations and foreign employees rather then American people.

 

 Products that are being imported to America are being made in China instead of the U.S. and taking away from our economy. St. Petersburg Times staff writer reports jobs in St. Petersburg have continued to decrease and 1.1 million people remain jobless (Harrington).

 

The issue is that our "efficient" market is destroying our planet and its species. People end up homeless because work is being sent over seas and it is too difficult to find a job in America. The recession has put many people in debt as well as on the streets and this could be prevented by the government.

 

Unemployment is effecting our community . Unemployment can be tied to globalization and a possible Non Profit Organization Idea would be to help people get jobs and keep them.  Keeping families working  is important so that they can support their children and themselves. It is important for St. Petersburg to employ the jobless people.

 

Globalization has little to no benefits, outsourcing jobs and genetically engineered are only two of the many issues globalization has caused. Unemployment and outsourcing jobs has created many problems for people in America and given China's economy the chance to expand. Our market economy is a scam and is not efficient because it uses up all of our natural resources. One issue is that America has made it unclear who they are trying to benefit. Within St. Petersburg a non profit that promotes organic locally grown food that is not genetically engineered is a good way to get back to the community and help Americas economy.

Using china as a specific example is fine, but it's starting to seem like your blaming all outsourcing on them... 


“If you're totally illiterate and living on one dollar a day, the benefits of globalization never come to you.” ~ President Jimmy Carter

 

 

     

Works Cited

     Shiva, Vandana. Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, Peace. Cambridge: South End Press, 2005. 

 

 

Palmer, Sharon, and Chris McCullum-Gomez. "Genetically Engineered Foods Update. (Cover story)."Environmental Nutrition33.7 (2010): 1-6.Academic

 

     Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 29 July 20

 

Link Back To: 

 

Rough Draft One

 

Earth Democracy

 

 

 

Overall,  great paper. I only had here an there comments that could only make it better. You guys put time into this and your paper most defiantly reflects it.

 

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.